We, at Cadila, have been consistently following the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) much before the term gained popularity. As an organisation with a history going back over 70 years, Cadila has had significant gender diversity across levels and functions. In an industry, where gender diversity is not very prevalent across organisations, Cadila has relentlessly strived to focus on ensuring that equal opportunity is provided to women and men in ensuring that everyone is able to perform their jobs in a meaningful manner, which fulfils their professional aspirations besides creating a thriving workplace.
Diversity, in itself, is never sustainable unless it is supported with a culture that is equitable as well as inclusive. Cadila has ensured that all employees experience the organisation in an equitable manner where it is the performance at the workplace which governs rewards, recognition and career progression.
It is equally applicable to each and every employee of the organisation regardless of gender or any socio-economic or cultural background. Ensuring that the culture is inclusive for employees has been a corner stone of the 70 plus years of this organisation. Having diversity alone is not enough unless it is backed by inclusiveness. Efforts at diversity will ultimately fall flat if people do not feel ‘included’ in the organisation.
Therefore, from the very beginning, and much before diversity, equity and inclusion became the buzz words in the corporate world, the management of Cadila had made conscious endeavours to ensure the same across the length and breadth of the organisation and not just for a year or two but over decades.
Proof of the pudding lies in its eating, and the presence of senior women leaders in Cadila has been a testimony to the culture of encouraging DE&I being followed right from the beginning. Several of the leadership positions across the Cadila have been and are being filled with senior women employees from across the country.
Hundreds of women employees have been working in Cadila for decades, and many of them have returned to Cadila after having worked in other organisations because they felt it was a very conducive environment to work in.
The following are some of the senior employees:
Shruti Hegde, chief commercial officer, comes with more than two-and-a-half decades of experience across industries. She joined Cadila a couple of years ago and relocated from Mumbai to Ahmedabad because she felt excited to be part of the journey with Cadila.
Mona Gogia, vice president-regulatory affairs, has been with the company for more than a decade and a half. In her own words, she has found immense challenge and excitement each and every day that she has worked here and there has never been a dull moment.
Priyanka Doshi, general manager-finance, India business, has been working in Cadila for close to five years. She is currently heading finance for the prescription business. Her passion and dedication to her job has been highly contagious in the team and is appreciated by one and all.
Anita Chakraborty, general manager-HR, has been with Cadila since 1996 and has worked in several capacities across locations before moving into her current role. She has found the culture to be “very warm and inclusive” and has never felt out of place in an industry which was and even now is predominantly male driven”. She started out as a medical representative over two-and-a-half decades ago and made the most of the career opportunities that came her way, to move across functions and job roles over the course of time.
Renuka Upadhyay, company secretary, joined Cadila about six months ago. She has been playing a pivotal role in the management committee and the board. She feels she made the right decision to join Cadila and values the “extremely fulfilling journey” she has enjoyed here.
Leena Darne, GM-marketing in branded business, joined Cadila eight months months ago after almost two decades of experience across several reputed pharmaceutical organisations.
Seema Sharma, vice president, manufacturing biosimilars, has been working with Cadila for the last eight years or so. This is her second stint with Cadila, having earlier worked here for about a decade and a half from 2000 onwards. She returned to Cadila in 2016.
Himanshi Jain, GM – HR, worked with Cadila for three and a half years before leaving and then returning after 6 months. She felt the culture that she had experienced in Cadila was something that she wanted to return to. The immense responsibilities that the organisation places very early on, shows the tremendous trust that it has on young talent. This trust is not limited to merely giving responsibilities but also o the freedom provided to work. She feels very comfortable working in the campus, which provides a lot of “positive vibes and energises” an individual.
The author of this article is Kinjal Choudhary, CHRO, Cadila
